At Fall River hearing, lawyer for Hernandez's cousin asks for bail exception

The only way that Tanya Singleton — Aaron Hernandez’s cousin, who has been undergoing treatment for breast cancer — can receive health insurance in Massachusetts, is if she stays in jail, her lawyer said on Thursday.

The only way that Tanya Singleton — Aaron Hernandez’s cousin, who has been undergoing treatment for breast cancer — can receive health insurance in Massachusetts, is if she stays in jail, her lawyer said on Thursday.

Singleton received public health insurance in Connecticut, but her coverage there recently expired because she has been incarcerated in Massachusetts since August, Parker said.

Parker asked Judge E. Susan Garsh to allow Singleton — who is charged with conspiracy and criminal contempt — to live in her hometown of Bristol, Conn., if she posts her $15,000 cash bail.

Garsh said Singleton could reside outside Bristol County, but added that she would have to remain in Massachusetts. Garsh, though, indicated that she might be open to eventually allowing Singleton to reside in Connecticut, but added that such a move would require her to set a higher bail.

Parker said Singleton’s family would put up their house in Connecticut as collateral to pay for the higher bail.

In other matters, Parker said the court previously misunderstood statements that led the court to believe that Singleton discarded a cellphone in her name that alleged accomplice Ernest Wallace is said to have used to speak with Hernandez and Odin Lloyd on the night of Lloyd’s murder in North Attleborough. Parker said Singleton was “not involved in destroying evidence.”

On Thursday, First Assistant District Attorney William McCauley said only that the phone bill went to Singleton’s address, and that the phone “stopped working” when she drove Wallace to Georgia after Lloyd’s murder on June 17.

Singleton is scheduled to return to court on Jan. 29 for another pretrial conference. Parker said he needed the extra time to review 100 data discs of police reports and other materials.

If Singleton posts bail, Parker told the court that she could live in Franklin, which is where Hernandez, 24, kept an apartment that alleged accomplice Carlos Ortiz described to police as a “flop house.” Parker declined to say where Singleton would live in Franklin.

If Singleton is forced to reside in Massachusetts, Parker said she will need to go through the process of applying for MassHealth, which he said was uncertain because of her temporary residency. Massachusetts residents do not have to live in the state for a specific period of time to qualify for MassHealth, although applicants must plan to continue living in the state.

McCauley said he objected to Singleton’s bail conditions being amended, adding that her situation with health care, while “unfortunate,” was her fault because she allegedly refused to obey a court order to testify before a grand jury in August, even after she was granted immunity.

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Singleton has pleaded not guilty to both the conspiracy and criminal contempt charges.

Prosecutors said Singleton spoke with Ortiz, 27, about helping him travel to Puerto Rico after Lloyd’s murder. Prosecutors have also said Singleton drove Wallace, 44, to Georgia, and then helped him buy a bus ticket to his family’s house in Miramar, Fla., where local police later arrested him.

Parker has said Singleton has no criminal record and did not know that Wallace and Ortiz were being investigated for Lloyd’s murder when she tried to assist them.